The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-03
THE OLD CEMETERY.
It's Improvement Advocated by "Pro
Bono Publico."

SAVANNAH, Oct. 1-Editor Morning
Ne'os: The old cemetery problem now con-
vulses this community, and argument is in
order as to whether or not the spot shall re
main as it is, with gaping graves revealing
their CHASTITY contents to every passerby,
and dilapidated vaults and tombstones.
ignored alike by the church authorities who
claim ownership, the city government and
the descendants of the venerated people
who quietly slumber beneath the noxious
weeds growing luxuriantly within its once
hallowed precincts, or be transferred to the
custody of our County Commissioners.
who propose to carefully repair the
ruins now existing and render our
''old cemetery ti5 place for visitation by
the living. The bones so sadly neglected
and forgotten, even by their progeny, ex-
cept when aroused to spasmodic bursts of
reverence by the proposition for their
proper care, would, in the latte, event, be
placed in decent graves, around which the
future generations might gather, and upon
which they might drop the tears of sorrow.
| advocate the contemplated change be-
cause believe it would be for the best inter
estS of our people Unlike some of my fellow
citizens who pretend to regard the ground as
hallowed because of the fact that some far
distant relatives whose faces they have
never seen, and whose given names can only
be recalled by reference to the family Bible,
lie buried there. | favor the proposed i'm
provement. Reverence for the sacred
ground is my predomlnating feeling | do
reverence it for the tender associations that
cluster around its hallowed precincts, and
from the fact that many of my first wite's
relatives, for four or five generations back,
rest under the crumbled graveStones, and
foul vegetation that scents the air with its
foul odor, and out of this reverence springs
my desire to see the place more decently
cared for. Underneath one of those moss
covered oaks peacefully rests all that re-
mains of one who, when in the flesh, was
my great-grandmother-in and this fact
alone conters upon me the privilege of Civ
ing unreserved expression to my sentiments.
Who dares to assert that such a relative Is
not dear TO a husbands heart, and that her
precious bones, resolved, perhaps, TO first
principles by the attrition of ever moving
time, are not entitled TO his reverential re-
gard!
We all revere the memory of our ances-
tors, and of the ancestors of our wives, our
cousins and our aunts, but where the great
est good of the greatest number is involved
and the public welfare IS the objective point,
no one should hesitate to sacrifice the mere
sentiment that hovers over the little spot of
ground containing the dissolving bones of
even three generations long since passed
away, and whose very names can be ascer-
tanned only by search through the pages
of the family Bible. Neneraton for our
dead forefathers and mothers is principle
that should be Instiled into the minds of the
rising generation, VINO are too apt to forget
the glorious past an roll marbles OH the flat
stones that press upon the ancient dust.
Mark Twain's vivid portraituye of his agony
at the tomb of his long since departed first
parent, Adam, in far away Palestine. Is
well calculated to touch the hardest heart,
and his description of the deep sorrow that
ran unchecked through his manly bosom as
he gazed upon the white slab which marked
the spot where rested all that was mortal of
him to whom he was indebted for his origin,
should cause us to honor, not ridicule, the
person who was capable Of cherishing such
exalted sentiments.
Right here, however, is presented the
pertinent question, Is any sacrifice of
our reverental feelings required or de-
mandeds Emphatically, no! The sacred
dust would be transferred to other spots
within the same enclosure; the grounds
would be cleared and beautified andin after
ages the great-grandchildren and the chill
dren's children of the great-grandchildre
Of the children OF to-day could gather
around the well cared for graves of those
who were once their sire's great-grand sires.
and who stood as links midway in the long
chain of genealogy between the occupants